Architect developing $1.5 million grass court tennis club in Pontiac

In London, England, tennis matches are being played on the Perennial Ryegrass courts at Wimbledon this week.

About 3,700 miles away, Bill Massie is developing the first grass court tennis club in the U.S. in 100 years.

And he's doing it in Pontiac.

The Wessen Lawn Tennis Club, Massie's $1.5 million project with 24 grass courts and four hard courts, is being built out at the former Hayes Jones Community Center, closed for about a decade. He plans to open the private tennis club on May 15, 2014.

"I've had this idea -- I've wanted to do this for the last 10 years," said Massie, who describes tennis as his family's passion.

Before Massie's $40,000 purchase of the Hayes Jones Community Center from the city, the two-story, brick-and-concrete building in the commercial prairie style was slated for demolition at a cost of $75,000.

The building, built around 1920 as the Pontiac Water Works, has an original terra cotta roof, with a pine ceiling and wrought iron trusses on its second floor.

The purchase of the building, on eight acres of property that borders the Clinton River, necessitated complicated land swaps and legalities. The deal closed June 24 after more than a year of discussion.

"This is the real deal. This is the kind of deal you want," said Emergency Manager Lou Schimmel. "To me, it's taking a building and parcels of land that have a negative value and turning it into a wonderful new project that goes on the tax base, as well, which will produce revenue in coming years."

Massie, 51, is the architect-in-residence and head of the architecture department at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills. His prefabricated architectural firm has headquarters on Golf Drive in Pontiac.

"I love Pontiac. It's the coolest city in Michigan," Massie said. "When you bring something back, it affects the community, not only by increasing property values, but (by delivering) a kind of higher level of optimism in the neighborhood."

His son, Tucker, is entering his senior year at the John Newcombe Tennis Academy in Texas. Massie's wife, Amy, plays tennis, too.

On a recent weekday, longtime Pontiac contractor Chuck Johnson was working on the property behind the former community center.

"I think this guy is doing a great job and this is to going to be an asset to the community," Johnson said. "The architecture's not being lost. It's being captured in his plan."

A well on the property, on Wessen Street west of Bagley Street, was the source of Pontiac's drinking water until the late 1950s, when the city switched to water from the Detroit system. In 1961, it became a community center and was later named for Hayes Jones, a Pontiac native who won a gold medal in hurdling at the 1964 Summer Olympics.

The neighborhood is in support of Massie's project, said Mayor Leon Jukowski.

"People are always talking about recreational opportunities, but how many recreational opportunities do you have in the City of Pontiac? They're going to actually draw people from the surrounding communities into Pontiac."

Massie said he's including the surrounding neighborhood in his plan.

"The kids who are close by in the neighborhood are going to have access to tennis," he said.

The Wessen Lawn Tennis Club is scheduled to open from May through October of each year. Massie is seeking 150 founding members to buy in at $5,000 each, with $1,500 annual maintenance fees each year thereafter. He hopes to end up with about 350 members total.

"The business model is like any club: People who are passionate about the sport and have the wherewithal to do it," he said.

There are plans for an open air dining and lounge area in the part of the community center that once housed a shuffleboard court and a restoration of the swimming pool on the property.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to run this place," Massie said while standing on the historic building's second floor.